Dates and Location

The Comet Interceptor SWT Meeting #8 will take place on 21st - 23rd April 2026 in the Einstein Room  at ESTEC.

 

Registration

Registration is closed.

 

Logistics

Information about meeting logistics can be found on the top as a subitem to this SWT #8 page.

 

Programme

21 April 2026

Working Groups

9:30 - 11:00    Science Operations Working Group
11:00 - 13:30    Comet Environment Working Group
13:30 - 14:30    Lunch
14:30 - 17:30    Target Identification Working Group
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17:30 - 18:30    SWT Executive meeting
   

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22 April 2026

Open SWT Meeting

09:30  Welcome, Introduction (M. Küppers, H. Kawakita)
09:40 ESA Update (N. Rando, M. Küppers)
10:15  JAXA Project Update (R. Funase)
10:30  Instrument Lead Scientist update (emphasis on science aspects), Instrument Lead Scientists, 10 min per instrument, 20 min for DFP)
​​​​​​​ Coffee break within the block
12:30 CISDC update
13:00 Lunch break
14:00 Working Group updates (30 minutes each for SOWG, CEWG, TIWG)
15:30  Update on Backup Targets considering increased delta-V and earlier launch date (J.-M. Sánchez Pérez, TIWG chairs, discussion)
16:30 Adjourn
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17:30  Cocktail (Wintergarden)

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23 April 2026

Open SWT Meeting (Science Session)

09:30 Updates on the trajectory analysis with non-gravitational forces (N. Attree)

09:50 Comet-Interceptor Trajectory Design: Reachability Analysis via Invariant Manifold and Moon-Flyby Transfers (J. P. Sanchez Cuartielles)

10:10 TailKit: Automated Cometary Activity Detection in Rubin LSST Data for Comet Interceptor Target Identification (L. Inno)

10:30 Cometary dust after Rosetta: A team effort (G. Rinaldi)

10:50 Cracking the Comet Cold Case: Looking to the Past to Prepare for Future Comet Encounters (S. Anderson)

11:10 Coffee break

11:30 Comparing 3I/ATLAS VIS-NIR reflectance spectrum with pristine chondritic meteorites (J. M. Trigo-Rodríguez)

11:50 Simulation of waves and jets at a comet (H. Gunell)

12:10 The plasma density goes bump in the night - magnetosheath jets at comets? (C. Goetz)

12:30 A Fast Magnetic Field Model for Comets (R. Doyle-Morgan)

12:50 Reduction of cometary imaging data through neural networks (R. Dengel)

13:10  AOB

13:30 Adjourn